Sourav Ganguly expressed his strong dislike for MS Dhoni’s Phase 2, where Dhoni used to play singles and doubles more than the fours and sixes.

Ganguly revealed that he immensely liked Dhoni’s playing style in Phase 1, where he used to hit sixes of almost every ball.

Didn’t like MS Dhoni of Phase 2: Sourav Ganguly

MS Dhoni burst onto the scene with the USP of hitting sixes at l, that too way back into the crowd. Combined with his calm demeanour and long hair, the cricketer glued audiences to the television.

Speaking to Raj Shamani on his podcast, Sourav said, “There was no player from Ranchi before. Look how MS Dhoni became such a great player and captain….I haven’t seen many players hitting sixes like MS Dhoni. When he arrived on the team, I remember Dhoni hitting sixes to all sorts of places in the stadium. I didn’t like the Phase 2 MS Dhoni. Dhoni of Phase 1 was something different. He used to hit only sixes, that too in the stands. That’s Phase 2 of Dhoni; I didn’t like where his game was centered around taking a lot of singles. He became a great player and captain.”

After 2007, Dhoni curated his game around taking a lot more singles and taking the game deep into the final stages, where he would eventually unleash his six-hitting.

Sourav praised Dhoni’s six-hitting talent when he arrived on the scene. “I went to see Dhoni batting in Jameshedpur. Saba Karim told me that this guy hits a lot of sixes. Dhoni didn’t know that I was in Jamshedpur to see him bat. He played the first game in Wankhede under my captaincy and was hitting sixes on the roof. I said to myself that this guy needs to be fast-tracked. If such a talent is not fast-tracked, then their game deteriorates.”